NEWSLETTER
I’m not going to get into all of the comments from Cubs owner Tom Ricketts today (Brett already did that right here if you’re interested), but there is one exception – which came out a little later via Jesse Rogers at ESPN – that requires additional attention (and, in my opinion, scrutiny).
From Tom Ricketts, via ESPN:
“That’s the beauty of baseball,” Ricketts stated. “You don’t have to have the highest payroll or the biggest stars. If you’re playing well, anybody can beat anybody….
Asked what it would take to increase payroll — the Cubs are at around $200 million right now — Ricketts quipped “more revenue.”
“We’re right there at CBT (Competitive Balance Tax) levels,” he said. “It’s kind of our natural place for us. That should be enough to win our division and be consistent every year.”
Okay, there’s a lot here that REALLY bugs and concerns me.
First of all, “The beauty of baseball is being able to win without having the highest payroll?” Uh. No. That is not the beauty of baseball. Or maybe it is for the people who benefit from winning without spending more money, but that is decidedly not us.
Second of all, it’s not even true. Of course teams CAN win without spending as much as the Yankees or Dodgers or Mets, but it inarguably makes your job more difficult. In fact, it’s right there in the CBA — you know, the document that specifically provides additional benefits and avenues for player acquisition (like extra draft picks) to teams that can’t spend as much as their big market peers.
And it bears repeating at every possible occasion: The Cubs are the ONLY team in the NL Central that does not qualify for any additional advantages in the CBA precisely because they are expected to spend significantly more than the other four NL Central clubs.
Third of all … “quip” or not, I don’t get any enjoyment out of a comment that connects increasing payroll beyond a level we saw EIGHT YEARS ago (~$200M) to more revenue today. It’s also possible to spend more on the team to make it better, and when you do, it generates more revenue.
And lastly, but most troublingly, the CBT (aka, luxury tax) comment. Brett did a good job at this point, so I’ll quote him from Twitter, here: “For years and years, ownership and the front office would just straight up refuse to discuss payroll levels/limits/expectations/etc. It can only hurt them in the market. So to discuss it now, with a hint of saying the luxury tax is a soft cap, is troubling. Wish I could convince myself it was just a negotiating strategy.” I also wish I could convince myself that it somehow applied to only 2024 … but I’m not so sure that wasn’t a veiled implication for the long-term finances and spending intentions of this organization.
If this team aims annually to stop at or around the CBT level (a totally arbitrary number that has nothing to do with the Cubs’ revenue or the competitiveness of the team or division), there is a problem. And to even SUGGEST that it “should be enough” to win the division is borderline insulting. Aim higher. Add in a cushion. My god.
Naturally, Ricketts also made sure to run the company line that Jed Hoyer has his budget and he’s allowed to use it as he sees fit — swatting away the idea that you should sometimes stretch your financial limits at opportune times. But that doesn’t really do much dissuade my overall reaction. I always reiterate my appreciation that the extent of Ricketts’ baseball ops involvement ends at setting the budget, but that doesn’t really make any of this feel better.
And, no, I’m not inclined to give that particular comment the benefit of the doubt (maybe he’s negotiating through the media, maybe this, maybe that). It’s February 19, and the Cubs have not done enough to improve this team in free agency, especially in advance of a year when the division is extraordinarily winnable (that’s part of the stated goal, right?).
Building smart and building slow are all fine and good when we all ASSUMED the money would be there for the right player(s). But when an owner describes the current payroll level as “natural” and requiring more revenue to exceed where it is are right now, it’s just not going to be met with understanding. Not on the heels of another rebuild. Not in this market. Not in this division.
I really do think the Cubs will end up signing one more free agent this winter, likely even one of the Boras Four, and that will augment our perspective. But Tom Ricketts (or Jed Hoyer) never EVER talk about payroll specifics, and the first time they do, this is what we get? It’s concerning.
